Shirley Ann McKie was the gentle soul and caretaker of our family. She spent her life taking care of others, from her own children to nieces and nephews, and eventually great-nieces, great-nephews, and even great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews who were fortunate enough to know her. She lived a life of quiet service, always finding a way to help and rarely asking for anything in return.

Shirley passed away peacefully at home in Port Orchard in the early hours of August 13, 2026, from complications associated with Parkinson’s disease. She was 81 years old.

Born July 8, 1945, at Naval Hospital Bremerton to Margaret and Al Bard, Shirley came into the world while her father was serving overseas in the Marines. She spent her childhood in Port Orchard with her sisters, Cathy and Ginny, in the family’s two-bedroom, one-bathroom home off Melcher Street.

It was a modest home, but it was filled with family, memories, and the beginnings of the life Shirley would spend caring for others. Her mother, Margaret, remained in that home until her death in 2022.

Shirley attended Givens Elementary and Marcus Whitman Junior High before graduating from South Kitsap High School in 1963. After high school, she began working at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard doing keypunch.

Shirley met Roy at a Halloween party in 1969. They were married on August 21, 1970, in the chapel at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard in Bremerton. Together they built a life centered around family, friends, community, and the simple joy of being together. They would have celebrated their 56th wedding anniversary just eight days after Shirley’s passing.

But when Shirley became a mother, her priorities became clear. She left the workforce to stay home with her daughter, Kristen, and help care for her nephew, Rob. Her son, Jason, was born during those years as well. Shirley was a proud homemaker and took impeccable care of her family.

Once her children were in high school, Shirley returned to work, spending several years at Kitsap Credit Union in both the South Kitsap and Silverdale branches. She made many friends and acquaintances there, just as she did everywhere she went.

She also spent several years working and volunteering at Saint Gabriel Catholic Church, where she was a lifelong member.

Service to others was woven into nearly every part of Shirley’s life. At Saint Gabriel, she especially loved helping families in need at Christmas. She would shop for presents, wrap them, organize everything, and make sure the gifts were delivered.

She and Roy also spent years helping provide Thanksgiving food baskets to families in need. Shirley would order the food, pick it up, organize everything, and then gather her family to pack and distribute the baskets.

She carried that same spirit of service into her children’s lives. She volunteered at Jason’s youth sporting events and served as a room mother and chaperone at South Colby Elementary. Over the years, countless children experienced her warmth, friendliness, and willingness to help.

Shirley never seemed to consider any of this extraordinary. To her, taking care of people was simply what you did.

And that instinct followed her everywhere, especially when it came to children.

She watched children, helped with school activities and sports, welcomed her children’s friends into her home, and was there for the important moments in their lives. She was there to meet the newest members of the family at the hospital and to celebrate graduations, weddings, birthdays, and all the milestones in between.

If there was an important family event, Shirley was there.

And if there was a family gathering, Shirley was probably in the kitchen.

Some of Shirley’s favorite times were spent cooking for the people she loved. She hosted Thanksgiving for decades, creating an enormous spread and somehow making sure there was enough food for everyone, no matter how large or ever-changing the family became. She would find the biggest turkey she could and get to work.

She made her famous fudge every Thanksgiving—a special family-only treat that everyone looked forward to each year. Because she only made it at Thanksgiving, it became one of those traditions that felt extra special. Thankfully, the family has her recipe and can keep the fudge tradition going.

Christmas morning meant Grandma Frank’s Egg Shmear, a tradition Shirley helped bring back to a new generation of nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and great-great-nieces and great-great-nephews. Grandma Mary Frank was Shirley’s maternal grandmother, and Shirley helped make sure this family tradition continued through the generations.

It became something the family looked forward to every Christmas morning—and something they will continue in her memory.

At Easter, there was her famous white cake with fluffy white frosting. She also loved making peanut brittle, cookies, and countless other treats for her family. She never met a piece of chocolate she didn’t like, and dessert was always an important part of the celebration.

Her nieces and nephews have their own special memories of Shirley’s cooking. When they were young, she made Mickey Mouse pancakes and heart-shaped peanut butter sandwiches. When Kristen and Jason had friends spend the night, Shirley would make breakfast sandwiches and put them in the oven to stay warm until everyone woke up.

She rarely sat down to eat during family gatherings because she was too busy making sure everyone else had what they needed.

That was Shirley.

She loved her friends just as deeply as she loved her family. Shirley had many girlfriends and lifelong friendships, and she treasured the time she spent catching up with them. She and Roy enjoyed dinners, card games, camping trips, and time with good friends. Some of their favorite adventures included camping trips to float the Yakima River.

After Roy retired from the shipyard in 2003, the two took a road trip across the country in their truck and trailer. It was the first and only time they were able to make such a journey, but Shirley carried those memories with her for years. She often talked about the places they had seen and the experiences they had shared.

Shirley loved being outdoors and was an avid gardener. She took great pride in her flowers and yard and was often complimented on how beautiful everything looked. She loved roses, peonies, rhododendrons, and Stargazer lilies, especially in the jewel-toned colors she favored: maroon, burgundy, dark pink, and dark blue.

Her lawn, however, was a lifelong adversary.

Shirley was also an exceptionally meticulous cleaner. Her floors were so clean you could eat off them. And if you happened to park a dirty car in her driveway, there was a good chance Shirley would wash it without you even knowing what she was doing.

Some of the family’s happiest memories were made at Ocean Shores. In the late 1970s and 1980s, Shirley’s parents owned a space at the Ocean Shores Recreation Club, and Shirley and her family spent a great deal of time there.

They dug for razor clams to make her mother’s famous clam chowder, took long walks along the beach looking for treasures, and gathered around the bonfire in the driftwood-lined fire pit her father had built.

Shirley loved music and loved singing along to her favorite songs. One of her all-time favorites was Norman Greenbaum’s 1969 hit Spirit in the Sky. Her family hopes that whenever that song comes on, they will picture Shirley singing along in their minds, and smile.

It can be difficult to find a photograph of Shirley where she wasn’t busy doing something for someone else.

She was usually cooking, cleaning, gardening, organizing, helping, or simply making sure everyone was comfortable and cared for. Sitting still was never really her thing.

But that is how Shirley spent her life: showing her love through action.

She didn’t need grand gestures. She showed love by making a meal, remembering a recipe, washing a car, tending a garden, wrapping a Christmas present, packing a Thanksgiving basket, making breakfast for a house full of teenagers, or simply showing up when someone needed her.

Her family meant everything to her. She put their needs above her own for as long as anyone can remember. She was born to be a mother and caregiver, and she carried that role far beyond her own children, loving and caring for generations of family.

Shirley’s legacy is not something that can be summed up by a job title or a list of accomplishments. It lives in the traditions she passed down, the recipes her family will continue to make, the gardens she tended, the friendships she nurtured, and the countless people who felt cared for because Shirley was there.

She leaves behind a family who will miss her deeply, but who will also continue to find her in the things she taught them to do: gather around the table, feed everyone, help those who need it, take care of one another, keep the traditions alive, and always make room for one more.

Shirley was preceded in death by her father, Al Bard; her sister, Cathy Gleason; and her mother, Margaret Bard.

She is survived by her husband, Roy McKie; daughter Kristen Weatherly (Tim); son Jason McKie; sister Ginny Leighton (Randy) of Noxon, Montana; brother Terry Conan (Cherie) of Phelan, California; and many beloved nieces, nephews, great-nieces, great-nephews, and numerous cousins who will miss her dearly.

A memorial mass will be held Friday, August 28, 2026, at Saint Gabriel Catholic Church in Port Orchard at 11am with a rosary at 10:30.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Port Orchard St. Vincent de Paul in Shirley’s memory.

And when you hear Spirit in the Sky, one of Shirley’s favorite songs, think of her singing along, and smile.